Fear of Failure Is Overrated

Seth Godin
March 24, 2009 | COMMENTS

Fear of failure is actually overrated as an excuse. Why? Because if you work for someone, then, more often than not, the actual cost of the failure is absorbed by the organization, not by you. If your product launch fails, they're not going to fire you. The company will make a bit less money and will move on.

What people are afraid of isn't failure. It's blame. Criticism.

We choose not to be remarkable because we're worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we're worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it.

“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!” “What a waste of money.” “Who's responsible for this?”

Sometimes the criticism doesn't even have to be that obvious. The fear of hearing “I'm surprised you launched this without doing more research” is enough to get many people to do a lot more research, to study something to death, and then kill it. Hey, at least you didn't get criticized.

Fear of criticism is a powerful deterrent because the criticism doesn't actually have to occur for the fear to set in. Watch a few people get criticized for being innovative, and it's pretty easy to convince yourself that the very same thing will happen to you if you're not careful.

Constructive criticism, of course, is a terrific tool. If a critic tells you, “I don't like it” or “This is disappointing,” he's done no good at all. In fact, quite the opposite is true. He's used his power to injure without giving you any information to help you do better next time. Worse, he hasn't given those listening any data with which to make a thoughtful decision on their own. Not only that, but by refusing to reveal the basis for his criticism, he's being a coward, because there's no way to challenge his opinion.

I admit it. When I get a bad review, my feelings are hurt. After all, it would be nice if every critic said a title of mine was a breakthrough, an inspirational, thoughtful book that explains how everything works.

But sometimes they don't. Which is about enough to ruin my day.

But it is not enough. It's not enough to ruin my day because I realize that my book got noticed. Most people loved it. A few hated it. But by and large, most books are ignored.

One bad review doesn't ruin my day because I realized what a badge of honor it is to get a bit of criticism at all. It means that I confounded expectations—that I didn't deliver the sequel or the simple, practical guide that some expected. It means that, in fact, I did something worth remarking on.

The lesson here is this: If I had written a boring book, there'd be no criticism. No conversation. The products and services that get talked about are the ones that are worth talking about.

How was your day? If you answer “fine,” then I don't think you were leading.

So the challenge, as you contemplate your next opportunity to be boring or remarkable, is to answer these two questions:

1. “If I get criticized for this, will I suffer any measurable impact? Will I lose my job, get hit upside the head with a softball bat, or lose important friendships?” If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you'll get from actually doing something worth doing. Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable, and great for your career. Feeling bad wears off. And then, once you've compared the bad feeling and the benefits, and you've sold yourself on taking the remarkable path, answer this one:
2. How can I create something that critics will criticize?

This chapter is reprinted with permission from author and marketing expert Seth Godin's bestselling book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Portfolio, 2008). Visit www.SethGodin.com to read his blog.